A Ghostly Timing
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Ten years after that fateful Halloween night, Lily manages to manifest her ghost form... with far reaching consequences not only for herself, but also for Severus Snape and Harry Potter. Set at the beginning of Harry's first Hogwarts year, completely AU.


**A Ghostly Timing**  
><strong>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
>I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.<em>

* * *

><p>Lily sighed in relief as she glanced down her body. '<em>Finally<em>,' she thought; '_I wonder how much time has passed_.' She glanced around the ruins of her former home at Godric's Hollow, looking for her wand. '_I must have dropped it when Voldemort attacked me. But it's not here. Someone must have taken it. Maybe Albus_.' She swept down to the first floor, only to confirm that James' wand was not left either. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she made her way into the living room, which to her surprise was in a relatively good condition compared to the rest of the house. Hoping that the content of her drawers and cupboards was at least untouched, she spent the next hour trying to open the second drawer from the bottom, the drawer that held her very own secret belongings. It was charmed to open on her touch; however, her magical signature seemed to be slightly different after her accident.

A small smile played on her lips when she pulled out her major wand and slowly turned it between her fingers. It was the wand, which Severus and she had bought from Ollivander at the time of their marriage. The wand belonged and obeyed to both of them, and Lily had always loved it. It was dark red, made from the oak tree, which they had been growing in their garden, and contained a feather of her white dove Animagus form plus a piece of snake's skin from Severus' Animagus form. Ever since their divorce, on which Severus had insisted, convinced that it would be too dangerous for her to be the wife of a Death Eater, who was in the inner circle of the Dark Lord, she had kept the wand locked away, resolving to only use it again when she could get together with Severus again.

Waving her wand at the wall, she cast the Tempus charm, unable to believe her eyes upon taking in the result. '19910902725'. '_Almost ten years after I died_,' she realised, terrified. '_How could it take me so long to manifest my body? I didn't even notice how the time passed_.' She pocketed her diary and a few other items from her secret drawer and pointed her wand at herself to make her ghost figure invisible, before she apparated away.

Knowing that James and most likely Harry were dead, she headed straight to Hogwarts in order to enquire about Severus' whereabouts. '_Minerva, Poppy or Albus will surely know where he is_,' she thought as she swept into the entrance hall, glad that she had been alert enough to cast the invisibility charm. Hundreds of students were just entering the Great Hall; however, Lily was not in the mood to see many students, especially not when a sudden thought popped up in her mind. '_If Harry hadn't been killed, he would be a first-year now_.' She quickly decided to evade the crowd and simply speak with Fawkes, the Headmaster's pet familiar.

Lily made her way into the Headmaster's office, which she had always liked very much. As a bird Animagus, she was able to communicate with Fawkes and had become good friends with the funny phoenix during her last two years at Hogwarts. She quickly waved her wand at herself, making herself visible for her friend.

"Fawkes," she addressed the bird that looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

#Well, it surely took you long enough, but it's a great pleasure to see you again# he trilled, chuckling.

"Only this morning I finally managed to manifest my ghost form" Lily replied, sighing. "Fawkes, I'm searching for Severus Snape. Do you by chance know where I can find him, or do I have to ask the Headmaster?"

#No need to ask the old cheery one, nestling# Fawkes replied, chuckling again. #The young grumpy one still has his nest in the dungeons. He is the Slytherin Head, Potions Master and Potions professor.#

"Really?" Lily asked, staring at the bird in excitement. "Is he…" she then began to ask as an afterthought, however, slowly tailed off.

#You're afraid that he might be sharing his nest with someone else?# Fawkes queried, beginning to meticulously clean his side wings. #No. Your photo is the only one decorating his rooms.#

Lily and Fawkes talked for some time, before she profusely thanked the phoenix for the information and left. Wondering if everyone was still at breakfast in the Great Hall or if the first morning class had already begun, she swept through the empty corridors and quickly descended to the dungeons, heading straight for the Potions classroom.

HP

Severus Snape had been looking forward to this Potions class for weeks. Already knowing his traditional monologue by heart, during his preparations he had concentrated on the questions, which he was going to ask big headed, famous, pampered Harry f... Potter. However, now that he entered the classroom and began his speech, glaring at the Gryffindors as grimly as possible, he felt outright ill. He had a killer headache that was accompanied by a feeling of magical weakness, and he was sure that he was running a fever. However, he pushed the thought of why he hadn't noticed the problem early enough to consume the necessary potions before the beginning of the second morning class aside and pulled through with his monologue.

Letting his eyes wander around the intimidated first year Gryffindors, he began to single out "our new celebrity" and asked his well prepared questions, contented when the boy repeatedly shook his head and replied in a small voice, "No sir".

Just when he asked his last question, however, Severus saw something that made him abruptly shiver. '_Lily_,' he thought, terrified. '_No, that's impossible. Lily is not a ghost, nor is she at Hogwarts. She has been dead for ten years. My temperature must be higher than I thought, and I must be delirious_.' Resolving to sit at his desk and take some rest, Severus ordered the students to get the ingredients and prepare them according to the instructions that he made appear at the blackboard with a flick of his wand. While the students were busying themselves in the ingredients cupboard, he quickly stepped into his office and gulped down a fever reducing potion, before he sat at his desk in the classroom, refraining from looking at the spot, where he had seen the ghost.

However, a mere instant later, a voice penetrated his mind. It was the one voice, which he would be able to distinguish from all voices. The voice, which he would never ever forget. It was her voice. Lily's voice. However, she sounded very angry.

"Severus, what do you think you're doing?" she asked in a very upset tone. "What are you doing to our son?"

"Our son?" Severus whispered back, grumpily. "He is Potter's son. He looks the spitting image of Potter, the boy who lived, an arrogant, pampered brat, just like his father." He let out a long sigh, as he absentmindedly let his eyes wander over the students, making sure that they were still busy. '_Why do I even bother to reply? Lily is not there. It's just my imagination. I'm delirious. I wonder why the fever reducer didn't work_.'

"Sev, he is your son, not James'," Lily said coldly. "I think you should have been able to figure that out by now. Did Alice never tell you? She is the only one, who knew that, but…"

She interrupted herself, when an explosion could be heard. Severus glared at the student, who had dared to disturb his most important conversation and quickly cast the Evanesco spell at the boy's cauldron, before he hissed, "Longbottom! Get out of my sight! Detention tonight at seven o'clock."

Now feeling slightly nauseous on top of everything, Severus banished the students' potions with a flick of his wand and dismissed them, not caring that it was still much too early. Unfortunately, casting magic seemed to make him even feel worse.

As he impatiently observed the students clean their workspaces and leave the classroom, he heard something that made him stare at Lily in shock.

"Do you know who the ghost is that is talking to Snape the whole time?" most annoying Harry Potter asked the insufferable know-it-all, who ushered him out of the classroom.

HP

Hermione turned back, letting her eyes wonder around the top of the classroom. "Harry, there is no ghost," she said, casting him a concerned look.

"I can't see anyone either," Ron agreed, shaking his head.

Before Harry could further insist that he had indeed observed the female ghost during the second half of the class, the professor's voice penetrated his mind.

"Potter, stay behind," the professor said snidely, in a voice that did not leave any space for pretending to have overheard it.

'_Oh no_,' Harry thought, terrified. '_What does Snape want now? What did I do to him that he keeps singling me out? It is as if he hated me for some reason. But he doesn't even know me_.'

"Potter, move!" the professor hissed, impatiently. "I don't have all day."

"We'll wait for you," Hermione whispered, soothingly touching his arm.

However, Harry shook his head. "No thanks, Mione. Go ahead. It won't help if we're all late for our next class. He won't kill me."

Harry hurriedly crossed the classroom, feeling more uncertain by the second, as he noticed that the professor as well as the ghost that was still hovering next to the teacher's desk seemed to observe him closely. '_Of course the ghost is here. Strange that Hermione couldn't see her_.'

"Yes sir?" he asked, curiously letting his eyes wander from the professor to the ghost.

"Hello Harry," the ghost was the first to address him. "You won't recognise me, my dear, but I'm your mother, Lily."

"Let's go into my office," Snape suddenly suggested, rising from his chair. "Mr. Potter, I will excuse you for your next class. I have a free period and wish to clarify something."

'_Clarify?_' Harry thought, horrified. '_Maybe the Sorting Hat told him that I didn't want to be sorted into Slytherin. Or they noticed that I'm a freak and not worth to study at Hogwarts. But what does Mum have to do with it? And why didn't she come to see me much earlier? Why here at Hogwarts and not at the Dursleys?_' Like in a trance, Harry followed the professor into the Potions Master's office, barely realising that the ghost swept along at his side.

Snape pointed to a seat behind his desk, and Harry hesitantly lowered himself to the edge of the offered chair, looking at the professor questioningly. The Slytherin, however, turned to the ghost.

"Do you have any proof?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow at Lily. "No one told me anything, and the Longbottoms weren't available."

"Why? Were there murdered too?" Lily asked, seemingly terrified. "Of course they could have been affected by the prophecy as well, but..."

"No," Snape interrupted her, and to Harry's surprise, he sounded much friendlier than earlier in the Potions class. "However, they were tortured by Lestrange and since then have been in St. Mungo's. The boy has come to Hogwarts now, together with your son."

The ghost remained quiet for an instant, before she replied thoughtfully, "The only other person, who knew about it, was Poppy. However, I obliviated her. I can show her the memory so she'll remember though. And I can also take the charms off Harry. I placed him under several charms to make him look like James." She let out a small chuckle. "And my charm was good. He never even got suspicious that Harry could be anything but his son."

"Excuse me," Harry through in, hesitantly, looking from the professor to his mother in confusion.

"Oh sorry, my boy," Lily apologized and explained shortly, "Professor Snape here is your real father, Harry." Ignoring her son's gasp, she continued, "However, at that time we had to hide this fact from everyone, and not even your father knew about it." Turning to Snape, she suggested, "Do you want me to reverse the charms? Harry what do you think?"

Snape and Harry exchanged a look. "I believe that it depends on Mr. Potter if he wants to change his appearance all of a sudden. Alternatively, I could brew a paternity potion."

Harry cleared his throat, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the thought of suddenly looking completely differently. '_On the other hand, no one will recognise me anymore, considering that everyone seems to know my appearance_,' he thought. "I don't mind. I'd prefer to look like I'm supposed to look," he finally said in a quiet voice.

"Very well then," Snape said decisively, nodding towards Lily.

HP

'_What am I doing here?_' Severus thought, leaning back in his comfortable arm chair. '_Why would the boy be my child? She was married with Potter before he was born_.'

'_Because she probably didn't even sleep with him, considering that you drove her into a marriage with a man, whom she didn't love_,' a small voice spoke up from the back of his head. '_Well, knowing Lily, that's certainly true_,' Severus mused, observing absentmindedly how Lily pulled her wand and pointed it at the boy.

'_It's not Lily's wand; it's the major wand, and since she is a ghost, it's feeding from my magic_,' he realised, all of a sudden feeling even worse than before. He felt his magic drain, his headache became unbearable, and his office began to shift dangerously. '_I need to remain conscious_,' he feverishly thought. '_I can't faint here in front of the boy, be it my son or that of my arch enemy_.' He tried to concentrate on Lily, his Lily, the only witch, whom he had ever loved apart from Eileen Prince, his own mother. However, he couldn't prevent his vision from failing. Colourful stars replaced his surroundings, and like from far away, he could hear the boy telling his mother to stop.

By the time his vision returned to normal, he found himself lying in his own, comfortable bed, no clue how he got there. Ghost Lily was hovering at his bedside, and a boy, the spitting image of himself along with Lily's beautiful green eyes, was sitting on the edge. '_Harry_,' he thought in amazement, '_my son_.' Lily and Harry were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice the change in his breathing.

"Why is it that only the professor and I could see you, but not my friends?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"Because the wand, which I used to make myself invisible, is the major wand, means our family wand, which of course does not work against either of you," Lily replied, smiling.

"What happened?" Severus threw in, causing Lily and Harry to immediately turn to him, as he inefficiently tried to bring himself into a sitting position, realising, horrified, that he felt too weak to even move.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Lily said in a soft voice. "It's my fault. I wasn't aware that the major wand was feeding from your magic, where my ghost magic was not sufficient, and I cast a lot of magic, since I had secured the charms over and over to make sure that they couldn't break accidentally. According to Poppy, your magic is completely drained, and you need to stay in bed and recover for the rest of today. She excused Harry from all classes, so that we can both keep you company and spare you a stay in the hospital wing."

"Oh Merlin, thank you Lily and Harry," Severus said, feeling very grateful towards the two members of his unexpectedly gained family.

During the rest of the day, Severus, Harry and ghost Lily made plans for the future, plans that involved the three of them as a family. Severus and Harry decided that Severus should officially claim Harry as his son and change Harry's name to Harry Snape. He also asked Cicero, his personal house-elf, to prepare a room for Harry in his quarters, so that Harry could stay with Lily and him whenever he wanted. '_Oh well, I'll get used to it, especially with Lily being back, even if only as a ghost_,' Severus thought, feeling happier than he could recall having felt during the last decade.

Later the same day, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped through the fireplace to check on Severus, and, to his great relief, Lily's presence distracted his colleagues so much that they forgot to make a fuss about him. '_Thank Merlin_,' he thought, smirking.

"Albus, Minerva," he thoughtfully spoke up. "I have one suggestion to make. Considering that Proessor Binns is teaching History of Magic and that Professor Flitwick has been talking about wanting to change positions and take over Binn's class for years, I believe that Lily would be more than adequate to teach Charms here at Hogwarts."

"Severus, that is a very good idea, provided that Lily agrees, of course," Professor McGonagall was the first to reply, smiling at the ghost, while the Headmaster thoughtfully nodded his agreement.

"I'd love to teach, if you really deem me able to do so; however, I definitely need some time to adjust to my ghost form and to prepare for the classes," Lily uttered, unable to believe what was offered to her.

"Very well then, let's say you'll take over the position after Christmas? Will that be agreeable to you, Lily?" Dumbeldore asked kindly, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

HP

When the Headmaster and his Deputy left, taking Harry with them for dinner in the Great Hall, Severus was asleep, and Lily decided to look for a spot, where she could take some rest. '_It's a pity that I can't sleep in his bed with Severus, since ghosts don't sleep. I'll also miss the wonderful meals in the Great Hall, because I can't eat,_' she thought._ 'On the other hand, I finally managed to become a ghost, got my family back, and received the Charms position at Hogwarts. I am definitely the luckiest ghost in the world_.'

**The End**


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